Cornyn’s loss in the Texas runoff gave a concrete example of what happens when Republicans in competitive primaries run up against President Donald Trump’s preference—and his willingness to intervene when he believes a lawmaker has not stayed loyal. Associated Press reported that Cornyn tried for more than a year to signal alignment with Trump, but the runoff ended with Paxton defeating him by double digits.
AP reported that the Trump-backed result unfolded after weeks in which Trump had intervened elsewhere by backing primary challengers in Indiana, Louisiana and Kentucky as revenge against incumbents who broke with his agenda. In Texas, AP reported, Trump’s endorsement of Paxton last week set the tone for the matchup, after which Cornyn fell out of favor despite a campaign effort aimed at keeping him within Trump’s good graces.
Cornyn’s attempt to avoid Trump’s wrath included a series of visible loyalty gestures. AP reported that Cornyn posted a photo of himself reading Trump’s book, “The Art of the Deal,” and that he proposed legislation to rename a stretch of interstate in Trump’s honor. AP also reported that Cornyn’s campaign began running an advertisement last summer with Cornyn telling viewers, “I voted with President Trump 99% of the time,” and that the campaign later promoted his “Trump-Cornyn Record.”
The record Cornyn sought to highlight was tied to legislation Trump championed, including the 2017 tax cut bill, AP reported. AP also said Cornyn supported provisions in Trump’s tax-and-spending legislation meant to help finance work for the U.S.-Mexico border wall. AP reported that Cornyn had dismissed the project as “naive” during Trump’s 2016 campaign, but later appeared publicly alongside sections of completed wall in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and said the project’s work was at “the direction of the president of the United States.”
Even as Cornyn leaned into pro-Trump messaging, AP reported that Trump held onto earlier differences. AP said Cornyn had told reporters in May 2023, “Trump’s time has passed him by,” and argued that a presidential candidate needed to appeal beyond “your base” in a general election. AP reported that in the course of endorsing Paxton, Trump also wrote on social media that Cornyn “was VERY disloyal to me.”
AP reported that Trump’s backing arrived as Cornyn’s position on Senate rules started to shift in an effort to keep pace with Trump’s voting-restrictions agenda. AP said that in March Paxton indicated he would consider dropping his candidacy if the Senate moved on the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, which Trump described as essential to his agenda. AP said Cornyn responded by backing away from his prior support for the filibuster, including writing an op-ed in the New York Post in which he said he would “support whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary” to get the bill “through the Senate and on the president’s desk for his signature.”
AP also reported that even some supporters noticed the change. Former Sen. Jeff Flake told AP he watched Cornyn’s adjustments toward Trump with discomfort, saying, “You look at the positions he took to please the president and the groveling and whatever,” and that it was “rather painful to watch.” Flake later said Cornyn’s earlier stances on the filibuster and Senate institutions mattered so much that “No office is worth that.”
After the results, AP reported that Trump responded with praise that emphasized both Paxton’s victory and Cornyn’s long career. AP quoted Trump writing on social media: “Congratulations to Ken Paxton on such a tremendous win, and to John Cornyn for having run a strong and powerful race but, more importantly, having had a truly great career,” adding that Cornyn “will remain my friend for a long time” as he said he would watch Ken become “a fantastic, common sense Senator.”
AP said Cornyn’s runoff campaign combined large spending, visible pro-Trump messaging, and high-profile efforts to match the president’s priorities. But the runoff outcome—Paxton winning and Cornyn losing by double digits—showed that even extensive accommodation did not overcome Trump’s assessment that Cornyn had fallen short on loyalty.